ONTARIO – For years, a dirt lot and dilapidated shopping strip were the only things Maria Jimemez saw when she drove past the corner of Euclid and Philadelphia avenues.

Now she sees the revamped Colonies Marketplace, which welcomed the opening of the city’s second Fresh & Easy neighborhood market earlier this week. The market’s opening capped off months of work to infuse the retail center with new life.

“This is so much better,” Jimenez said as she pushed her cart through the crowded grocery store on Wednesday. “This growth is good for the city.”

Improvements to the Colonies Marketplace came from a partnership between the Ontario Redevelopment Agency and The Bergman Companies, a Chino-based construction company, said John Andrews, the city’s redevelopment agency director.

“We’re really pleased with it and it helps activate the Euclid Avenue corridor, especially in that corner,” he said.

In addition to the Fresh & Easy market, the 42,000-square-foot retail center also boasts a Walgreens. It is connected to a 5,000-square-foot retail center with existing tenants that include The Wine Barrel liquor store, Payday Advance and Karina’s restaurant.

Andrews said that originally, the two parcels were separated from each other, which prevented traffic from the parking lot of the liquor store from getting to the Fresh & Easy.

Last summer, the city’s redevelopment agency partnered with Bergman to begin rehabilitation and exterior facade improvements that were consistent with the adjoining project, Andrews said.

“It was important to time the two projects aesthetically and functionally,” he said.

The redevelopment project was completed in December and took a total of five months. Andrews said the developer is still looking for prospective tenants for a future fast-food pad space and a shop building to be constructed.

Fresh & Easy is located at 2275 South Euclid Ave., For more information, call 909-983-5980.

Liset Márquez covers the cities of Pomona, Claremont, La Verne and San Dimas for the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin. A beat reporter for the Bulletin since 2006, she previously wrote for the Chattanooga Times Free Press. She keeps a watchful eye on city councils and the Dodgers.